1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for controlling the speed of an electrically driven vehicle and, more particularly, to a method for controlling the downhill speed of an electrically driven vehicle that prevents the vehicle speed from increasing beyond a speed set-point by using regenerative braking.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The dynamic power of a fuel cell system for a vehicle is limited. Further, the time delay from system start-up to driveability and low acceleration of the vehicle may not be acceptable. During a drive cycle, the stack fuel cell voltages vary because the variable driver power request follows the stack polarization curve. The voltage cycles can decrease the stack durability. These drawbacks can be minimized by using a high voltage battery in parallel with the fuel cell stack. Algorithms are employed to provide the distribution of power from the battery and the fuel cell stack to meet the requested power.
For the reasons discussed above, some fuel cell vehicles are hybrid vehicles that employ a rechargeable supplemental power source in addition to the fuel cell stack, such as a DC battery or a super capacitor (also referred to as an ultra-capacitor or double layer capacitor). The power source provides supplemental power for the various vehicle auxiliary loads, for system start-up and during high power demands when the fuel cell stack is unable to provide the desired power. More particularly, the fuel cell stack provides power to a traction motor and other vehicle systems through a DC voltage bus line for vehicle operation. The battery provides the supplemental power to the voltage bus line during those times when additional power is needed beyond what the stack can provide, such as during heavy acceleration. For example, the fuel cell stack may provide 70 kW of power. However, vehicle acceleration may require 100 kW or more of power. The fuel cell stack is used to recharge the battery at those times when the fuel cell stack is able to meet the system power demand. The generator power available from the traction motor during regenerative braking is also used to recharge the battery through the DC bus line.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a hybrid fuel cell system 10 including a fuel cell stack 12 and a battery 14 that includes power electronics. In order to provide battery charge or discharge, a voltage difference is needed between the stack voltage and the battery voltage that is greater than or equal to the battery charge. When the stack voltage is greater than the battery voltage, the power electronics operates as a voltage amplifier where the gain is less than or equal to one. The fuel cell stack 12 provides electrical power to a high voltage bus line, represented here as positive bus line 16 and a negative bus line 18. The battery 14 is also coupled to the high voltage bus line 16 and 18, and provides supplemental power as discussed above.
The fuel cell system 10 includes a power inverter module (PIM) 22 electrically coupled to the bus lines 16 and 18 and a traction motor 24. The PIM 22 controls the traction motor 24 and converts the DC voltage on the bus lines 16 and 18 to an AC voltage suitable for the AC traction motor 24. The traction motor 24 provides the traction power to operate the vehicle, as is well understood in the art. The traction motor 24 can be any suitable motor for the purposes described herein, such as an AC induction motor, an AC permanent magnet motor and an AC three-phase synchronous machine. During regenerative braking when the traction motor 24 is operating as a generator, electrical AC power from the motor 24 is converted to DC power by the PIM 22, which is then applied to the bus lines 16 and 18 to recharge the battery 14.
When a vehicle travels downhill, the speed of the vehicle will generally increase depending on the gradient of the hill. The vehicle operator can apply brake pressure to the brake pedal to maintain the speed of the vehicle relatively constant as it is going downhill, but the brakes may become overheated as a result of the braking required to reduce the vehicle speed. Also, for certain types of vehicles, the vehicle can be slowed down by using engine braking, i.e., shifting to a lower gear for both manual and automatic transmissions. However, it would generally be difficult to use the braking torque of the engine to provide a constant speed when going downhill, because it requires the vehicle operator to continuously be providing gear shifts and brake applications.